TPG Capital TPG.UL is in advanced discussions to buy commercial property brokerage Cushman & Wakefield Inc from Exor SpA (EXOR.MI) for about $2 billion, and an agreement could be announced as soon as next week, Bloomberg reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) has reached a 9.2 percent stake in U.S. on-line retailer Zulily Inc (ZU.O), after sweeping up shares at rock-bottom prices last week.

Advisory firm ISS has recommended that BMW (BMWG.DE) shareholders should vote against the appointment of outgoing chief executive Norbert Reithofer as chairman of the carmaker's supervisory board, newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported.

Japan's Takata Corp (7312.T) said it expects to return to profit this financial year on higher Asian and U.S. sales, but the troubled company made few provisions for possible costs related to a massive global recall of its exploding air bags.

Japan's Sharp Corp (6753.T) is considering using capital to reduce accumulated losses on its book, an accounting maneuver that would allow the loss-making electronics maker to resume dividend payment earlier, a source said on Saturday.

China's Tiens Group Co. Ltd is treating more than half of its 12,000 employees to a four-day holiday in France and has booked up 140 hotels in the capital Paris as part of the package, a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Timo Soini, the Finns Party leader and possible new finance minister of Finland, said on Friday it would make sense for Greece to leave the euro zone.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras forecast a happy end soon to fraught negotiations with creditors on a cash-for-reform deal, and the chairman of euro zone finance ministers said talks were making progress, though not enough for a deal next Monday.

China's crude oil imports hit a record high in April as falling prices encouraged stockpiling, but coal imports plunged and shipments of other commodities generally eased on a year earlier amid a sluggish economy.

General Motors Co said it will fall short of its goal of having 500,000 GM vehicles on U.S. roads by 2017 that are powered by some form of electricity.

Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) is aiming to sell a 20- to 30-percent stake in its rail unit via an initial public offering in Frankfurt as early as October, said three sources familiar with the matter on Friday.

Visa Inc (V.N) is in preliminary talks to buy former subsidiary Visa Europe Ltd, in a deal that could be valued at up to $20 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

U.S. stock indexes ended more than 1 percent higher on Friday after strong jobs data indicated U.S. economic growth was picking up momentum, but not enough to raise concerns about an earlier-than-expected interest-rate rise by the Federal Reserve.

Grupo BTG Pactual SA (BBTG11.SA) could book a net gain of about 3.5 billion reais ($1.15 billion) when the recent sale of a stake in Brazilian hospital chain Rede D'Or São Luiz SA is completed, Chief Executive Officer André Esteves said on Thursday.

Energy, transport and finance deals are likely to be on the agenda as Chinese President Xi Jinping meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during a three-day visit to Russia, where he will attend World War Two commemorations.

BG Group said on Friday it was still happy with Shell's $70 billion takeover bid despite a recent upturn in oil prices that led the company to increase the profit outlook for its liquefied natural gas (LNG) business.

Alibaba Group Holding (BABA.N) is in talks with India's Micromax Informatics (IPO-MINF.NS) to buy an about 20 percent stake in the smartphone maker, helping the Chinese e-commerce giant expand in one of the world's fastest growing markets for the devices, several people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Crude oil prices edged down on Friday, set for their first weekly decline in more than a month as concerns over a global supply glut outweighed strong Chinese crude imports.

China's exports unexpectedly fell 6.4 percent in April from a year earlier, while imports tumbled by a deeper-than-forecast 16.2 percent, fueling expectations that Beijing will quickly roll out more stimulus to avert a sharper economic slowdown.

When Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (BABA.N) eccentric founder Jack Ma stepped down as CEO two years ago, he declared "the Internet belongs to young people," and promised that most of the company's leaders born in the 1960s would soon retreat from management.

Sports shoe maker Nike Inc put its weight behind President Barack Obama's push for a trade deal with Asian countries on Friday with a promise to create up to 10,000 U.S.-based manufacturing jobs if the pact is approved.

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) currently is not weighing an offer for Salesforce.com Inc (CRM.N), two people familiar with the matter said on Thursday, dampening speculation that Microsoft could be drawn into bidding for the cloud software company.

Agrochemicals firm Syngenta on Friday rejected a $45 billion takeover offer from Monsanto, saying the offer undervalued the Swiss firm and did not fully take into account regulatory risks.

World bond and stock markets rose on Friday after a bruising week and sterling jumped to a two-month high after the business-friendly Conservative party won Britain's national elections.

U.S. job growth likely rebounded last month and the unemployment rate probably dropped to a near seven-year low, signs of a pick up in economic momentum that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to hike interest rates this year.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday he would not raise the possibility of Greece leaving the euro zone, in part at least due to the effect that would have on financial markets.

Oil prices tumbled 3 percent on Thursday as a resurgent dollar erased gains from the past two sessions, setting the market up for its first weekly loss in five.

U.S. stocks ended higher on Thursday, helped by a jump in tech stocks and a reversal in surging global interest rates.

Bright House Networks, the sixth largest U.S. cable operator, is preparing to abandon a $10.4 billion deal to be acquired by larger peer Charter Communications Inc (CHTR.O), according to people familiar with the matter.

Bombardier Inc outlined plans to list a minority stake in its rail unit on Thursday, as it reported a quarterly profit that topped market expectations. The initial public offering is expected to take place in the fourth quarter and the main listing is likely to be in Germany, where its rail business is headquartered.